Christ Church Centre
Christ Church Opening
The Christ Church Centre was officially opened by Bishop Laurie during a Dedication Service at 4pm on Saturday 10 October 2009. The opening was preced by family activities and followed by a barbeque and jazz band.
Season of Prayer for the Christ Church Centre
This runs from 30 August to 19 September. Please join us in praying for our hopes and dreams for the Centre, and for the money and people to run it. Gift Day is on 20 and 27 September.
Update on Building work (28 June 2009)
Do have a look at the progress being made - walls are growing and the roof is taking shape and the size of the rooms is very visible. Please continue to pray for all the work to continue on schedule.
Update on Building works (7 June 2009)
The old entrance has gone and the hall has a temporary gable wall to keep it waterproof - this will be removed later. Inside, a breeze block wall for the new toilets and the boiler room are up. At the front, concrete foundations have been poured for the load bearing walls. On the side of the old Vicarage, a new brick wall for the store room is being erected. With the dry weather the builders are still ahead of schedule although they have lost some time digging around for the electrical cables which weren't were they were expected.
Of bricks, mortar, glass and the goodness of God
So - at last- the building work has begun! It has been a long time in the preparation and of course it has seemed at times as if we may never see it happen. And what a steep learning curve, as they say these days! How is it possible to turn a vision into reality when we don’t know what design is feasible nor what we can manage financially. And who will help us?
Our team of professionals has been of immense help in working through the mountains of regulations and procedures and will continue to oversee all that has to be done before the new building is completed. Gerald, our Architect, Ian and Richard, our Quantity Surveyors, and our own Project Team have worked together over two years to design and re-design the plans and to select the best builder for our purpose.
Over the next few weeks we will see many changes as the demolition begins, the old porch is taken down, walls taken out and kitchen and toilets stripped. Much has to get worse before it can get better! Not all will be lost though. Two of the small windows in the porch are to be re-installed in the wall of the storeroom at the end of the hall and the stone archway of the original porch will be stored in the boiler room ready to be used again if possible.
We have already seen the new steps made by our regular builder, John Lomas, at the West Door entrance for use during the building work and we hope that these will be easy to manage for everyone. There will be a steward to assist people with these steps at each service. For those concerned about the demolition of the toilets, there will be portable facilities sited on the grass to the left of the church near the vestry door. Hopefully we shall appreciate the new facilities even more once they are built!
In Biblical times – and probably for many people nowadays too – important events were confirmed not only by treaty or documents but by a meal. Taking that as a good principle to perpetuate, Christ Church will no doubt take every opportunity to share meals together, and with the new kitchen facilities, who can blame us! So, calling all cooks and caterers amongst us, what a delight it will be to work in a stainless steel environment with a large-sized up-to-date cooker and industrial dishwasher which whizzes the dirties through in no time at all.
None of this would have happened though without the grace of God and his provision for us in response to our prayers. Step by step he has led us through each phase and each seemingly insurmountable issue and given strength, patience and perseverance to the team to enable them to carry on when the burden became almost too much. God’s financial provision has come often in the difficult times, and with such overwhelming generosity that it has given encouragement and hope to us all and we thank him for that.
There is still much work to be done until the project is complete so please continue to pray for God’s continuing help and provision and that we do his will in Christ Church and for the people of Warley.
Jill Smith
Work begins
Work begins on Monday 27 April.
News on Friday 13 March 2009 - the Centre goes ahead
Essex Environment Trust has offered the church funding of £15,000 towards the Christ Church Cnetre. This takes the money given or pledged to over 90% of the amount required. Pending the completion of the contract the work will start at the end of April and will be completed during October.
Update (30/11/08)
Grant of £2,000 received Fowler, Smith and Jones; £20,000 from Garfield Weston and £2,000 from the Rank Foundation. Thanks to God for this answer to prayer.
November update
The Christ Church Centre
I am delighted to be able to tell you that the PCC agreed unanimously at its recent meeting to commence the tender process for the building of The Christ Church Centre. This decision enables Gerald Barrett, our Architect, and Ian Hawkridge, our Quantity Surveyor, to complete the Tender Document that will be sent out to potential contractors. This document will be very detailed in that all aspects of the building work, including the structure, roof, walls, floors, windows, doors, and fixtures and fittings will be specified. The arrangements for use of the church grounds by the contractors will also be outlined.
We expect that the Tender Document will be sent to five or six possible contractors in the middle of November and the cost of the work will be known to us just prior to Christmas. In the New Year the various tenders will be evaluated by Gerald and Ian who will then make their recommendations to the PCC.
We have just sent off a major grant application to Veolia (formerly Cleanaway) and we thank Andrew Wood for producing a very high quality piece of work. The outcome of that and other grant applications will be known by the end of January. Can I urge all of you to pray constantly that the funding gap of around £100,000 will be closed so that, notwithstanding global financial issues, a building contract can be signed for work to begin in the Spring
Philip Smith
September update
Chris continues to lead our regular project meetings as we seek to progress God's work by building The Christ Church Centre.
We are aiming to move ahead as quickly as is realistically possible and we are delighted that Brentwood Borough Council has approved our application to build. Some conditions have been imposed by the Council however, and the most significant of these relates to the extent of the area that will need to be fenced off as protection for the existing trees. Our architect is in discussion with the Council on this issue but please pray that the matter can be resolved satisfactorily.
The Business Plan has been completed and this has enabled the process of seeking financial support from Trusts and Grant Giving Bodiesto begin. Applications are being worked on but the timescale for evaluationand decision making by the Trusts does mean that it will be into the New Year before all the responses are known. Prayer for favourable consideration of our applications for support is important because, as things stand, there remains a gap of £100,000 between the latest estimate of the cost, which is around £400,000 and the funds that have been given or pledged. The actual cost of the work will not be known until tenders are received from potential contractors.
This does mean that it now looks as though building will not be possible in January as we had hoped. Please do pray, however, that work can commence by the beginning of April 2009 because that is the latest date for completion to be achieved by the start of the Autumn Term.
Philip Smith
And finally…….
Have you got an artistic streak?
We are looking for a logo for our new Christ Church Centre
The final design can be created from your idea by professionals, so please submit your sketches, with your details on the back, to the vicar
Thank you
April update
We are now coming to terms with the wonderful financial response to the appeal for the building of The Christ Church Centre. More than £151,000 has been given or pledged by the congregation of Christ Church, which together with the generous donation from the Boys' Brigade and the money available from our reserves, makes the total amount raised to date alomost £300,000.
Tempting as it is to want the building work to begin in July, which is the final date to achieve completion before Christmas, there is considerable time-consuming preparation work to be undertaken and approvals to be obtained before a building contract can be entered into.
The Senior Historic Buildings Advisor from the Essex County Council has visited the church building and we are presently discussing one or two changes to the plans that will make planning approval easier to obtain. We expect to be in a position to make formal applications in the next few weeks both to Brentwood Borough Council and The Chelmsford Diocese; you may remember that representatives from the Diocese visitied Christ Church last October and they were supportive of our proposals. Once these approvals are obtained an application must be made to the Chancellor of the Diocese for a legal Faculty to proceed with the work. Our architect must also produce a detailed document that can be sent to potential contractors so that they can submit a tender price for the project.
We are moving forward as quickly as possible and ask for your prayers that this phase of the work will go ahead smoothly and not encounter distractions and delays and that the remainder of the necessary finance will be forthcoming. Our objective is to commence building work as soon as possible after Christmas this year.
Philip Smith
Important notices
Love God and love your neighbour as yourself
As you may have already heard, there has been an extraordinary response to our prayers for the Christ Church Centre. More than £151,000 has been pledged or donated by the congregation of Christ Church.
We give thanks to our Father in heaven for these abundant gifts. Many people have been willing to make real sacrifices in order to support this project. The vision of what we can do together in mission to share the love of Jesus Christ in our community has captured imaginations and hearts.
These monies are in addition to the £150,000 already available from the Boy's Brigade and our reserves, so we are well on the way to achieving our target. We shall now approach specialist trusts and charities and ask them to add to what has already been given. I am confident that the Christ Church Centre will be built and that a new chapter in the history of Christ Church will be opened in our generation. Having witnessed God's blessing I am even more excited at what He shall do among us.
Let me offer my heartfelt thanks to all of you who have already contributed. If you have not yet taken the opportunity to make a pledge or donation, there is still time to do so. May we all be inspired by the generosity of others. Please continue to pray that God will provide the full measure of resources needed and that the Centre will become a living demonstation of God's love in Warley.
Rev Chris Goldsmith
Background
At its meeting on the 13th September 2007, the Church Council voted to proceed with a project to create a new entrance area and gathering space, build a new kitchen on the front of the existing hall and refurbish the existing toilets.
We are now embarking on the process of obtaining the necessary approvals from the Diocese and the local planning authorities. Representatives from the Diocesan Advisory Committee, a group of architects and engineers, visited Christ Church on the 24th October to inspect the proposed design.
This project is exciting and we feel sure that it is God's calling to Christ Church. However it will entail considerable expense. If we are able to proceed within the next 12 months, the total cost will be £340,000. If the project is deferred clearly the costs will increase. We have already been promised or have identified £150,000 towards the cost and so we will still need to raise around £190,000.
We are currently looking to identify external bodies who might be able to contribute, and we will be contacting them early next year. However they will only consider contributing once the level of our financial commitment is clear. We are planning a period during which church members will be encouraged to make financial commitments or pledges. This is likely to be towards the end of January / beginning of February. This will be preceded by several weeks when we will be praying about what each of us is prepared to commit towards the cost of the project.
Between now and then there are several areas in which we can all help. Firstly, if you have any interesting ideas that would help to raise funds please let us know. Secondly, we would be interested in hearing of any organisation that you think might be prepared to support us. Thirdly, if you are keen to help in any way, please let us know. Many thanks to the Guides who have provided some lovely home made Christmas and other cards for us to sell.
Finally and most importantly, please pray for God's guidance in the very practical work that is now in progress and for each of us that we may see how God is calling us to support this part of His ministry here in Warley.
Jes Salt and Philip Smith